Prime Minister of the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan, at the General Debate of the 72nd Session of the
UN General Assembly

BISMILLAH-IR-RAHMAN-IR-RAHEEM

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would first like to
convey the deepest sympathies of the people and government of Pakistan to the
people of Mexico affected by the recent earthquake and also to all those
affected by storms Irma and Maria.

Let me first congratulate
Mr. Miroslav Lajcak on his election as the President of the 72nd session of the
General Assembly. I am confident that his long experience in public service and
international relations will be an asset in successfully guiding this august
Assembly to address the imposing challenges of security, development and
governance that confront the world today.

Mr. President,

For over 70 years –
despite the Cold War, the nuclear arms race and scores of regional conflicts –
our world was able to avoid a global conflagration. This can be ascribed in
large measure to the adherence by most States to the prohibition of the use or
threat of use of force except under the authority of the UN Charter.

Unfortunately, the
principles of the UN Charter have been progressively eroded in the new
millennium. In recent years some countries have displayed a growing proclivity
to resort to unilateral force and intervention against other States. Coercion
and threats have emerged again as the main currency in the management of
inter-state disputes and differences.

Renewed East-West
tensions may engulf Europe in another Cold War. Peace and prosperity in Asia is
threatened by emerging big power friction and rising tensions in South, East
and West Asia.

?The Middle East is wracked by war and violence – in
Syria, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere. Although Daesh appears to have been weakened
in Iraq and Syria, terrorist violence has spread and intensified across the
Middle East and Africa and other parts of the world.

There is no end in sight
to the tragedy of Palestine. Israel’s prolonged occupation and expansion of
illegal settlements may lead to renewed and wider violence in the Holy Land.

?The legitimate struggle
for self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir continues to be
brutally suppressed by India’s occupation forces.

Rising racism and
religious hatred – manifested in xenophobia and Islamophobia – is erecting
physical walls and psychological barriers between nations and peoples even as
our world becomes increasingly interdependent.

The ethnic cleansing of
Rohingyas is not just an affront to all norms of humanity but also challenges
our collective conscience.

While the pillars of
world order are being eroded, the imperative of international cooperation – to
address poverty, disease, climate change, nuclear proliferation, terrorism and
forced displacement – is intensifying.

Today, more than ever, we
need the United Nations to provide the parameters, processes and platforms for
global cooperation that is essential to address the wide ranging challenges to
peace, security, and development.

Pakistan welcomes the
efforts launched by Secretary General Antonio Guterres to revitalize the United
Nations’ capabilities in Peace and Security, Development and Management.

? We are also committed to reform that transforms the Security
Council into a more representative, democratic and accountable body rather than
an expanded club of the powerful and the privileged.

Mr. President,

Pakistan celebrated the
70th anniversary of its independence last month. This month marks the 70th anniversary
of Pakistan’s membership of the United Nations.

Pakistan’s commitment to
the principles of the United Nations is evident from the long record of its
constructive role in the initiatives and contributions that have shaped the
decisions and discourse at this world body on decolonization, development,
trade, international law, human rights, refugees, peacekeeping, security,
disarmament and the United Nations’ budget and management.

Pakistan has consistently
been one of the world’s top troop contributors to UN peacekeeping. We will
remain on the frontlines of peacekeeping and continue to offer professional and
well-trained personnel to the United Nations, despite our own security
challenges.

Mr. President,

Our adherence to the
principles of the United Nations Charter flows from the declaration of our
Founding Father, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah who said: “Our foreign policy
is one of friendliness and goodwill towards all nations of the world”.

Unfortunately, from day
one of its creation, Pakistan has faced unremitting hostility from its eastern
neighbor. India refuses to implement the unanimous resolutions of the UN
Security Council, which mandate a UN supervised plebiscite to enable the people
of Jammu and Kashmir to freely decide their destiny.

Instead India has
deployed nearly 700,000 troops in Occupied Kashmir to suppress the legitimate
struggle of the Kashmiris to exercise their right to self-determination. This
is the most intense foreign military occupation in recent history.

As in the past, today the
Kashmiri people are waging a heroic and popular struggle to rid themselves of
India’s oppressive rule. They come out in the streets daily to call on India to
leave Jammu and Kashmir.

India has responded with
massive and indiscriminate force to suppress the Kashmiris, shooting
indiscriminately at children, women and youth. Hundreds of innocent Kashmiris
have been killed or injured. Shotgun pellets have blinded and maimed thousands
of Kashmiris including children. These and other brutalities clearly constitute
war crimes and violate the Geneva Conventions.

Pakistan demands an
international investigation into India’s crimes in Occupied Kashmir. We ask
that the United Nations Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human
Rights send an inquiry Commission to Occupied Kashmir to verify the nature and
extent of India’s human rights violations, secure the punishment of those
responsible, and provide justice and relief to the victims.

Pakistan also urges the
international community to call on India to: halt pellet gun attacks and other
violence against unarmed demonstrators; stop the use of rape as an instrument
of state policy; end media blackouts; rescind its draconian emergency laws; and
free all Kashmiri political leaders.

Mr. President,

To divert the world’s
attention from its brutalities, India frequently violates the ceasefire along
the Line of Control in Kashmir. Despite over 600 violations since January this
year Pakistan has acted with restraint. But if India does venture across the LoC,
or acts upon its doctrine of “limited” war against Pakistan, it will evoke a
strong and matching response.

The international
community must act decisively to prevent the situation from a dangerous
escalation.

Mr. President,

The Kashmir dispute should be resolved justly,
peacefully and expeditiously. As India is unwilling to resume the peace process
with Pakistan, we call on the Security Council to fulfill its obligation to
secure the implementation of its own resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.

To this end, the UN
Secretary-General should appoint a Special Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir. His
mandate should flow from the longstanding but unimplemented resolutions of the
Security Council.

Mr. President,

Let me reiterate,
Pakistan remains open to resuming a comprehensive dialogue with India to
address all outstanding issues, especially Jammu and Kashmir, and discuss
measures to maintain peace and security. This dialogue must be accompanied by
an end to India’s campaign of subversion and state-sponsored terrorism against
Pakistan, including from across our western border.

Mr. President,

Apart from the people of
Afghanistan, Pakistan and its people have suffered the most from four decades
of foreign intervention and civil wars in Afghanistan. These wars have blighted
our country with the flow of extremists and terrorists, guns and drugs as well
as an influx of millions of refugees. They have set back our economic
development by decades. Even today, Pakistan is host to over 3 million Afghan
refugees. No one desires peace in Afghanistan more than Pakistan.

From 16 years of the
ongoing war in Afghanistan, it is clear that peace will not be restored by the
continuing resort to military force. Neither Kabul and the Coalition, nor the
Afghan Taliban, can impose a military solution on each other. The international
community – as expressed in several United Nations resolutions – has concluded
that peace can be restored in Afghanistan only through a negotiated settlement.

Having suffered and
sacrificed so much due to our role in the global counter-terrorism campaign it
is especially galling for Pakistan to be blamed for the military or political
stalemate in Afghanistan. We are not prepared to be anyone’s scapegoat. Taliban
“safe havens” are located not in Pakistan but in the large tracts of territory
controlled by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Yes, cross border attacks
do occur. These are mostly conducted by anti-Pakistan terrorists from “safe
havens” across the border. To end all cross border attacks we ask the Afghan government
and the Coalition to support and complement Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to
strengthen border controls and monitor all movement across it.

What Pakistan is not
prepared to do is to fight the Afghan war on Pakistan’s soil. Nor can we
endorse any failed strategy that will prolong and intensify the suffering of
the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan and other regional countries.

Pakistan believes that
the urgent and realistic goals in Afghanistan should be: One, concerted action
to eliminate the presence in Afghanistan of Daesh, Al-Qaeda and their
affiliates, including the TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which was recently declared
a terrorist organization by the Security Council.

Two, promote negotiations
between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban – in the Quadrilateral Coordination Group
(QCG) or any trilateral format – to evolve a peaceful settlement in
Afghanistan.

These two steps offer the
most realistic prospect of restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan and our
region.

Mr. President,

Pakistan’s counter-terrorism
credentials cannot be questioned. After 9/11 it was Pakistani efforts that
enabled the decimation of Al-Qaeda. Pakistan’s military campaigns have
succeeded in clearing our tribal areas of almost all militant groups.

We took the war to the
terrorists. We have paid a heavy price. Over 27,000 Pakistanis including 6,500
military and law enforcement personnel have been martyred by terrorists. 50,000
Pakistani nationals have been injured, including 15,000 army personnel, many of
whom have lost their limbs.

Mr. President,

We have fought the war
against terror with our own resources. Pakistan’s economic losses are estimated
at over $120 billion. Yet, we remain committed to fully implementing our
National Action Plan against terrorism and extremism. Defeating terrorist
violence is vital to realize our overriding priority of rapid economic and
social development.

Mr. President,

Terrorism is now a global
phenomenon, which must be addressed comprehensively. We see two major gaps in
the global counter-terrorism strategy. First, the international community has
failed to address the issue of state sponsored terrorism. This is an instrument
of choice of the agents of chaos and aspiring hegemons. In several regions,
stability will be difficult to restore unless State sponsored terrorism is
condemned, prohibited and punished.

Second, to eliminate
terrorism, its root causes must be addressed. These are not only poverty and
ignorance; terrorism is even more an extreme response to real or perceived
political and other grievances, including foreign intervention, oppression and
injustice. Unless such root causes are addressed, it will be difficult to
counter the twisted narrative of terrorist groups.

Mr. President,

Confronted by a hostile
and increasingly militarized neighbor, Pakistan has been obliged to maintain
the capability for credible deterrence. My country developed nuclear weapons
only when these were introduced in our region by this neighbor. Our strategic
assets are vital to deter oft-threatened aggression. They are tightly and
effectively controlled, as has been widely acknowledged by experts. The world
community would be well served by enabling Pakistan to join global
non-proliferation arrangements, such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group on a
non-discriminatory basis.

Mr. President,

Climate change poses a
new and existential threat to mankind’s future. Extreme climate events are
multiplying: Their consequences – flooding in Texas, landslides in Nepal and
Sierra Leone, devastation in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico, disappearing
Himalayan glaciers – are global and indiscriminate. As one of the most
vulnerable states to climate change, we believe that it is in our collective
interest to pursue and realize the goals of the Paris Agreement and build a new
and greener model for growth and development.

Mr. President,

Growth and development
remain the primary objectives of the developing countries. The United Nations’
Sustainable Development Goals represent the most ambitious development agenda
in history. The development challenge has become even more imposing due to the
combined constraints of climate change, rising protectionism, fraying
international cooperation and proliferation of conflicts.

The vision of shared
growth – spelt out in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative –
offers a solid path to prosperity and a model of South-South cooperation worthy
of emulation.

Mr. President,

Pakistan’s economy has
recorded a remarkable revival in the past four years. The China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) will further contribute to our economic upsurge. This
will expand exponentially as the Pakistan-China partnership extends beyond
energy and transportation to many other sectors.

Pakistan’s integration
into the Eurasian Belt and Road network will provide a firm foundation for
Pakistan’s rapid economic development. With a youthful population of 207
million people, we are confident that an economic strategy anchored on rising
incomes, consumption and production will propel Pakistan towards greater prosperity.

To achieve these priority
goals for our people, Pakistan seeks to build peace within our country and
security around our borders. We seek good relations with all States on the
basis of sovereign equality. We will respond positively to all offers of
friendship and cooperation.

Mr. President,

We are poised at a
critical inflection point in history. The world order that has prevented a
global war for over 70 years is under threat. Yet, revolutionary advances in
science and technology, the immense capacity for global investment, production,
consumption and trade, especially in the developing countries, and the
availability of structures and mechanisms for collective action offer an
opportunity, unprecedented in human history, to address the diverse challenges
that we face today. It is here, through the United Nations, that the peoples of
the world can seize the opportunities to achieve our common vision of a more
just, peaceful and prosperous world.

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